(Reader, please note: When Allan Spiker posed words
or statements for restatement in dialect often they were declarative
sentences but I punctuated them with question marks to underscore
the implies question, "How would you say...?" Dialect
words I spelled phonetically in an effor to demonstrate shadings
in expression. Since I could not use umlauts I employed diphthongs,
double letters, which then reflect as close as possible the variations
in pronunciations. Often there are variations of spellings within
the same series of exchanges where there may be a repeated use
of the same or similar word. These variations are intended because
often the respondent varied the pronunciations of the same word.
Further, I did not capitalize the dialect nouns. I make no claim
for consistency. MLH)

AS: My name’s Allen Spiker, I’m in Bismarck,
North Dakota. Today’s date is July 17th, 1979. And I’m
speaking with Mr. and Mrs…

CB: Cornelius Blotsky.

AS: Okay. And maybe you could tell me something
about your people and just, where you were born and…how
about your people down here in Morton county.

CB: In English?

MB: Yeah.

AS: Auf Deutsch.

CB: Deutsch, okay. Ich bin na boarn in Russland,
in Grossna. Und ik var drei jahr alt und vie mya, mya family rieba
gamooft sint oof Amerika. Und ninezen hunnert un nein.... (I was
born in Russia, in Grossna. I was three years old when my family
and I moved to America. And in 1909.....)

[Pause].

AS: Vo hat ihre familien ihre heimstadt? (Where
did they homestead?)

CB: Heimstadt in Raleigh. Nort von Raleigh nort
von Raleigh hamerga heimstadt hat mein fatter lahnd oof genoo.
Und dann sinn mir veiter g'moovt. Ich kann nit saga was feer yore,
Ich war noch younk vo mer dort fort g'mooft sinn noch Solon. Un
varen mer dort a veil un dann sinn mer dann veitter g'mooft..(unclear)
Un dann in ninezen hunnert un achtunzawanzig habe geheiratet.
Von ...in Raleigh, St. Katherine kirich. (Homestead in Raleigh.
My father took land north of Raleigh. Then we moved further. Can
not say, I was only four, I was young when we moved away to Solon.
We were there for a time and then we mmoved further. I was married
in 1928 at the Raleigh St. Katherine's Church.)

AS: Musst sie auch vas sagen? I’ll ask this
in English but you can answer in German. You said your people
speak…your German is a little different than the others
from around here?

CB: All zu zamme, all zu zamme. Sie vo die, rieber
koomst sinn die or zurueck, dann hat er g'settlt in Straussborg.
(All together, together. Just like those who came over and back
and then settled in Strassburg.)

CB: Neinzehn hundert und acht und ..........Und
der earsht in Straussborg. Und dann sinn doat no rieber g’mooft
eber der river nort Raleigh dat in, dat rum uns. (In 1908, first
in Strassburg. And then they moved over the river north of Raleigh,
in that area.)

MB: Dann kannt mer noch land kenna uff nimma aber
der .....var nichts. (Then you could still homestead but [later]
there was nothing.)

AS: Var nichts da?

CB: And that’s a…

AS: How, how is your German different from say the
people over in Strassburg, or the other people up in other areas
of Grant County and Morton?

AS: And then, if you disagree, or you think you
say something different, just interrupt. How would you say, "I
like that and I used to like that?"

CB: Well, es iss yetz, eh........

MB: "Ich gleich dess un ich hans noch immer
geglicha."

AS: And how would you say, "I was there?"

CB: "Ich war dort."

AS: And, "What's wrong?"

CB: "Gar nix." (Laugh)

AS: You're not supposed to say what's wrong.

CB: "Wass ish letz?"

AS: OK.

MB: "Nich war letz."

AS: And how would you say, "Hey, look."

CB: "Gut."

MB: Nay, "Gook."

CB: Oh, "Gook."

AS: And if I were standing on the street and a speeding
car were coming and I didn't see it and you shout out the window,
"Look out." How would ..........

CB: "Pass oof."

AS: And how would you say, "He walks now,".............maybe
you could move up a little closer then because I don't know if
I'm picking you up. Both come in a .......that should be OK, that's
better. Thank you. How would you say, "He walks now and he
walked yesterday?"

MB: "Er lauft yetzt un er laufft gischter rum."

AS: OK. "She runs now and she ran yesterday."

MB: "Sie laufft naw...un..you know....yetz
laufft er...

AS: Do you ever say, "springa?"

MB: Huh ah....laufft ....lauffet.

AS: To run.

MB: Ah hah.

AS: Oh, you don't say "springa?"

CB: "Lauffet."

AS: And...it....for walk, the same word then?

MB: Mir sagt "laffet" oder "ei g'laffet."

AS: How would you say, "I jump now and I jumped
yesterday?"

MB: "Hoaket"

CB: "Hoapsa."

MB: "Bisht dernach g'hoapst, see."

AS: OK. And how would you say, "He sold the
plow."

MB: "Er hat der ploog ferkaufft."

AS: And then how would you say, "One plow,
two plows?"

MB: Nae, ae plooch oder zwei plooch. Zwei pleech."

AS: OK. A number of these words....a number I asked
...like one, two..just to get the singular and plural. To note
the changes like baum and baem.

CB: Oh, yah.

AS: "He always smoked the pipe."

MB: "Schmoaked da pife."

AS: How would you say, "God?" How would
you say, "Devil?"

MB: "Der Herr Gott un der deivel."

AS: When you say, "devil" is with a "d"
or a "t?"

MB: A "d."

CB: "Deivel." Ya.

AS: And how would you say, "I hear something?"

MB: Hear something, "Heera."

AS: And, "No, I don't know him."

MB: "Ich kenn net."

AS: How do you say "no?"

MB: "Ich kenn ihn net."

AS: Ya, but when you say, "no" do you
say "nein?

CB: "Nay. Nay."

AS: How would you say, "I know that he doesn't
have any money?"

MB: ".......er hat kei gelt."

AS: OK. And how would you say, "Summer, Winter,
Spring and Fall?"

MB: "Sommer un Vinder un Freeyore un Schpaetyor."

AS: And, "That's a pretty girl."

MB: "Mmm...ne, that's a schoenes maerah."

AS: How do you say "girl?"

MB: "Maerah."

AS: OK. I may ask you to repeat some words because
they're different from what I've heard before. I'm glad I ran
into you. Now, when you were children and you were talked to an
older person, would you say, "du" to them?

MB: Wir hab'n dann alaen dann eine schtub g'habt.
Wir haben nich dann bei die aeltera ge'gang'n in des room wo die
waren.
(We were then in a different parlor. We were not in the same room
with the adults.)

AS: Sind sie auch in einen vasenhaus gewohnt? (Did
you also live in a sod house?)

MB: ".... there were vasen gebeier und schtaen
gebeier. Mir hatten kuhe in der schtall gehat, varen unna gebauer
mit schtaener un laem ....mit oberst war mit holz ......dene habn
immer mit schmaera, na mit dem laema, schmaera un weisela mit
kalik weisla ....... hatt immer wieder schaen g'sena." (There
were buildings still standing built with sod and stones. We had
a cow barn the lower part of which was made with rocks and clay
and above there was wood. We had to keep it in repair with lime
and whiteneing....when it was whitewashed it looked real nice
again.)

AS: So the 'bek haus' came....... (Sherman) was
just interested in when they started building them.

MB: Un dass war when die ander, die alte gebauert
g'worn, dann haen sie dass g'bauert. Es war schlimm frier yora
(That was when the old ones were first here that they built them.
It was bad in those early years.)

AS: So kalt war.

CB: Dass war schlimm. (That was bad.)

AS: How about prohibition? What did the Germans
down there do? During prohibition, you know, when you couldn't
buy anything to drink?